You may be wondering why we have chosen to unite ourselves in prayer from sunset June 11th until sunset June 12th.
This 24 hour period is Sivan 6th on the Biblical calendar (where days are counted from evening to morning) and it is the Feast of Weeks—also known as Pentecost. From ancient times, this day has been celebrated as the day when God gave Moses the Law, written on tablets of stone. It is also the day (hundreds of years later) when God poured out His Holy Spirit, writing His Law on human hearts.
The same day! Don’t you love God’s precision?
In choosing this historic day to make our united cry, we are acknowledging something. When Jesus originally sent His followers to the ends of the earth, He knew that this spiritual task could not be accomplished through mere earthly means. But He promised them, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.” Our power to be effective, fruit-bearing witnesses of the LORD comes from Him alone. From His Holy Spirit, residing in us. And apart from Him, we can do nothing.
We who have Christ have the Holy Spirit. But we can quench Him. We can grieve Him. Or, we can follow Him and enjoy His comfort and empowerment.
Together we are crying out to God to fall on this land, but how will He fall? Is it not mainly through us, His witnesses?
The disciples of the LORD waited for a week to ten days in that upper room. What were they doing? After the cataclysmic events of the LORD’s death, burial, and resurrection—not to mention His supernatural appearances to them-- the things of this world had to be growing pretty dim. The apostles who had previously argued about which of them was greatest, and vied for the best seats in His Kingdom, were “all with one mind” by the middle of Acts chapter 1. No doubt they were seeing all of life from a whole new, gloriously heavenly perspective. They had become a humble, teachable, unified Body, both eager and prepared to operate however their Head would move them.
Let us invest this week in ridding ourselves of any practice of behavior, any habit of thinking, anything at all that grieves or quenches the Holy Spirit so that we may not rob ourselves of our God-given empowerment. And more importantly, that we may not rob God of the honor and glory which our lives are meant to reflect.
Lastly, let us rejoice in our high calling to be the hands, the feet, the Body of Christ!
This 24 hour period is Sivan 6th on the Biblical calendar (where days are counted from evening to morning) and it is the Feast of Weeks—also known as Pentecost. From ancient times, this day has been celebrated as the day when God gave Moses the Law, written on tablets of stone. It is also the day (hundreds of years later) when God poured out His Holy Spirit, writing His Law on human hearts.
The same day! Don’t you love God’s precision?
In choosing this historic day to make our united cry, we are acknowledging something. When Jesus originally sent His followers to the ends of the earth, He knew that this spiritual task could not be accomplished through mere earthly means. But He promised them, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be My witnesses.” Our power to be effective, fruit-bearing witnesses of the LORD comes from Him alone. From His Holy Spirit, residing in us. And apart from Him, we can do nothing.
We who have Christ have the Holy Spirit. But we can quench Him. We can grieve Him. Or, we can follow Him and enjoy His comfort and empowerment.
Together we are crying out to God to fall on this land, but how will He fall? Is it not mainly through us, His witnesses?
The disciples of the LORD waited for a week to ten days in that upper room. What were they doing? After the cataclysmic events of the LORD’s death, burial, and resurrection—not to mention His supernatural appearances to them-- the things of this world had to be growing pretty dim. The apostles who had previously argued about which of them was greatest, and vied for the best seats in His Kingdom, were “all with one mind” by the middle of Acts chapter 1. No doubt they were seeing all of life from a whole new, gloriously heavenly perspective. They had become a humble, teachable, unified Body, both eager and prepared to operate however their Head would move them.
Let us invest this week in ridding ourselves of any practice of behavior, any habit of thinking, anything at all that grieves or quenches the Holy Spirit so that we may not rob ourselves of our God-given empowerment. And more importantly, that we may not rob God of the honor and glory which our lives are meant to reflect.
Lastly, let us rejoice in our high calling to be the hands, the feet, the Body of Christ!